#Opinion: Should Christians be involved in politics?

Just a few days
ago, one of my friends asked me a question on Blackberry Messenger (BBM); “Should
Christians be involved in politics?” the first thing I thought of was that everybody
is involved in politics consciously or subconsciously.

When only 30% or
40% of people vote, a minority can end up deciding the fate of the country.

When we don't vote
in an election, we abdicate our God-given authority, making ourselves no
different than an honourable who doesn't attend an house of assembly sitting
during an important election.

“For evil to
triumph it is merely necessary that good men do nothing”. When a country is run
badly, the first people to suffer are the voiceless.

Some Christians
would say “politics is no place for followers of Christ”, “God would never want
any of His people to be earthly rulers because heaven is our home”, “getting
people to heaven is more important than trying to straighten out a fallen world”
etc. Most Christians also believe politics is so corrupt that distance must be
kept. Should we then just sit in Sunday school and sing kum ba ya? Forgetting
that most of Nigeria’s governmental system was developed using Christian
principles.

We are not God but
we are his vice-regents on earth. The big question here is, are we raising
responsible people to vote for irresponsible people?

Everybody ought to
be involved in politics. We are affected either directly or indirectly on daily
basis by the way our nation is managed. Some say that politicians must
compromise moral principles, and that is why no Christian should strive to hold
a public office. But as Christians, we are the salt of this earth; we are the
light of this world; we are a city set on a hill and must not be hidden, our
place is on the top, our place is to rule.

Where did
Christians come up with the idea that followers of Christ have no place in
human governments? Through political laws a country can protect women and
children from the exploitative industry of pornography and homosexuality. Also,
through political laws, the
government can decide on how we are going to worship God.

It should be known
that Government policies can hinder or help the spread of the gospel, deter or
strengthen evil, promote or inhibit justice, encourage or suppress immorality,
invigorate or stifle productivity; create wealth or breed poverty.

We often find that
the greatest agents of oppression in the world are secular humanist, The
traditional rights that Christians have enjoyed for centuries could be
curtailed, times have changed and all political parties are now promoting the
values of secularism.

God has commanded
us to liberate the oppressed; our once open society is becoming increasingly
hostile toward Christian values and Christian liberty. We shouldn’t just sit
there and blame President Goodluck Jonathan for the mayhem happening in the
country. Let us all stand up with alacrity and be the change you want to see.

The key is to
realise that we are involved anyway; Join the Christian group of the party that
you believe in and be an advocate for Jesus politics within it. It is our
responsibility to vote, to campaign for certain candidates, and even to run for
office so as to have Christians in government.

Our most basic,
God-given bit of political authority is to vote in elections which determine who
will represent and lead us.